While on an errand to the Kansai region, I was able to spend half a free day in Kyoto, or rather, I forced myself to make such an itinerary (lol). I went for a walk in the Kyoto Imperial Gardens first thing in the morning so that I could enjoy it without wasting time traveling from where I was staying. The Lumix G99 and Leica DG12-60mm that I had in my suitcase for this half day came in handy.
It was a very cold day in late March, not quite spring.
I entered the garden from the Sakaimachi Gate and started to walk up the path on the west side of the garden, where I found weeping cherry trees. The weeping cherry trees of the ancient capital still look quite elegant under the cold weather.
I thought that the plum blossoms would be finished as expected, but there were still some healthy branches in bloom, which was something to be gained.
And here’s the best part of this visit. The peach orchids are just in their prime.
I learned from an acquaintance that plums, peaches, and cherry blossoms are members of the same rose family, and that cherry blossoms are easy to distinguish because each flower has a long branch with a split petal tip. It is difficult to tell the difference between plum and peach flower, but I was told that only plum flowers bloom first, while peach leaves open along with the flowers.
Thinking about it, this may be the first time I’ve taken the time to look closely at and photograph peaches when they are in bloom.
Since peaches have a strong image of fruit (so much so that I even wrote so in the title of this article), one would think that the flowers would also have a sweet fragrance, but in fact, peach blossoms have a disappointing lack of fragrance. I read in a book that they have a faint fragrance, but unfortunately, I could hardly recognize it because my nose function is impaired due to hay fever.
Aside from the fragrance, the peach blossoms in the Kyoto Imperial Gardens were in full bloom, which was very pleasant. They shone beautifully under the sunlight that shone through the overcast sky.
Since we are in this location, let’s take a shot with the Kyoto Imperial Palace wall and Kenreimon gate in the background.
The article has been very long. The last one is not a flower but the Kenreimon gate of the Imperial Palace from the front.
The weather was a bit of a bummer, but the light was softer and more conducive to photographing flowers. In fact, it got even colder and rained afterwards, so it was a good decision to come for a walk in the morning.
That’s all for now, I took pictures of cherry blossoms, plum blossoms, and peaches at the Kyoto Imperial Garden.
